In order to increase the available interior space of a motorized or towable vehicle such as a motor home or trailer, slide-out rooms can be made integral with the vehicle. When the vehicle is in transit, the slide-out room can be retracted and stored in the vehicle's interior with the exterior wall of the slide-out room approximately flush with the vehicle's exterior. As such, there is typically adequate space within the vehicle's interior to accommodate users in transit and remain within the standard width limitations imposed upon a vehicle. When the vehicle is parked and leveled, the slide-out room is then slid outward through an opening formed in a sidewall of a fixed room, increasing the internal accommodations.
A typical slide-out room usually includes a floor section, a roof section, a first sidewall section, a second sidewall section, and a third sidewall section. In the retracted position, the roof section and the first and second sidewall section are concealed from exterior view, and the third sidewall section forms a portion of the vehicle's sidewall. At the same time, the floor section of the slide-out room typically rests above a floor section of a fixed room and may form a portion of the usable interior floor during vehicle transit. Similarly, the roof section of the slide-out room may define the interior ceiling of that part of the vehicle during transit. The proximal ends of the roof section, first sidewall section, and second sidewall section, include stop walls. As used herein, “proximal” refers to the portion towards the vehicle body and “distal” refers to the portion away from the vehicle body. The stop walls form a L-shaped configuration with the respective roof section, first sidewall section and second sidewall section. The stop walls engage the inner surface of a respective sidewall section of the fixed room when the slide-out room is fully extended, and thereby limit the travel of the slide-out room. Weather sealing material, as in compressible strip form, is located on the abutting surfaces of the stop walls and/or inner surface of the respective sidewall of the fixed room.
A number of slide-out extension mechanisms are currently used to extend and retract the slide-out room. Typically, a slide-out extension mechanism includes a pair of support rails which telescopically extend and retract from a pair of channels. The support rails are attached to the slide-out room and the channels are attached to the fixed portion of the vehicle, such as the fixed room, wherein the slide-out room retracts and extends with the retraction and extension of the support rails. The support rails may be driven hydraulically, pneumatically, electrically or various combinations thereof. In the fully extended position, the support rails extend outwardly in a cantilevered manner and support the slide-out room. The slide-out room is further supported by the stop walls abutting the inner surface of the respective sidewall section of the fixed room.
Previous slide-out mechanisms utilize manual hand-crank devices located outside the slide-out room. While functional, a user is forced to stand outside the slide-out room to operate the manual crank. This leaves the user exposed to possibly extreme weather conditions such as heat, cold, rain, snow, sleet, hail, and wind.
Previous motorized slide-out mechanisms place the motor on the outside of the slide-out room. This positioning can leave the motor exposed to the elements, decreasing its lifespan. Other designs provide an outer compartment for the motor, embedded into the room. While this compartment design protects the motor from the weather, the compartment reduces the interior space of the slide-out room.
Although these prior art slide-out extension mechanisms are useful, there remains a need for an improved slide-out mechanism that allows a user to extend a slide-out room from the interior of the room. There also remains a need for an improved slide-out mechanism that allows a user to easily attach a motor without requiring a significant amount of interior space.